Recycling: What & Why We Should Recycle?

Tackling Recycling

Why should you recycle? Does it really help the environment? What is recycling?

     Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and instead turning them into new products.

There are many different products that are part of the recycling family. Also, most products have recycling symbols on them. This is so everyone knows what goes in recycling bins.

Some symbols include the following:

What Can You Recycle You May Ask?

Here is a list of the most common recycling materials:

• Paper
  • 25 percent of solid waste generated each year
  • Americans also recycled almost 67 percent of the paper they used in 2015
• Batteries
  • Dry-Cell Batteries are used in a variety of electronics.
  • The list includes:
    • alkaline and carbon zinc (9-volt, D, C, AA, AAA)
    • Mercuric-oxide (button, some cylindrical and rectangular)
    • Silver-oxide and zinc-air (button)
    • Lithium (9-volt, C, AA, coin, button, rechargeable) batteries.
• Plastics
  • Almost 35 million tons of plastics were generated in the United States in 2015.
  • Only 9.1 percent of plastics was recycled in 2015.
• Glass
  • Glass containers for food and beverage 
  • In 2015 11.5 million tons of glass were generated
  • Also, about 26 percent of which was recycling.
• Used Oil
  •  It takes 42 gallons of crude oil, but only one gallon of used oil, to produce 2.5 quarts of new motor oil.
  • The used oil from one oil change can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water.
• Household Hazardous Waste
  • Products such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides that contain potentially hazardous ingredients require special care when you dispose of them.
  • These also may be dangerous to people or bad for the environment if poured down the drain, dumped on the ground, or thrown out with regular trash.
  • Finally, check with your local waste management agency to see what rules apply in your community.
• Tires.
  • You may be able to return used tires to either a tire retailer or a local recycling facility that accepts tires.
  • Tire piles create an environmental danger especially with when a fire occurs. 

Recycle Benefits

First of all, it reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills. Another benefit is that it conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals. It also helps us saves energy. Another positive factor is that it supports American manufacturing and conserves valuable resources. Finally, it also helps create jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in the United States.

Check out this informative video to learn more:

To learn more about why you should recycle check out this page!

This is the first of our recycling series! Check back for next week for more on recycling!

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